Leonardo da Vinci studied an ornithopter, a flying machine designed to imitate the wing movements of birds.
The word ornithopter comes from Greek roots meaning “bird” and “wing.” Leonardo’s notebooks contain many observations of birds, bat wings, airflow, and the mechanics of flight. He used those observations when developing machines with flapping wings powered by a human or mechanical system.
An ornithopter is different from a glider, which remains airborne with fixed wings, and from a helicopter, which uses rotating blades. Leonardo’s drawings show several possible arrangements of wings, levers, and pedals, but none is known to have carried a person successfully.
Leonardo eventually recognized that human muscle power alone was probably insufficient for sustained flapping flight. His work nevertheless helped connect anatomical observation with engineering design. Modern ornithopters have flown as experimental aircraft, but they are not descendants of a single completed Leonardo prototype.